Top Gun: Maverick, the astounding return of Tom Cruise

Picture of the film TOP GUN : MAVERICK by Joseph KOSINSKI © 2022 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved

A second installment to take your breath away. Out of Competition, Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel and successful tribute to the 1986 cult film, is directed by Joseph Kosinski, director of Tron: Legacy (2010). Tom Cruise puts back on his aviator jacket and pilots his fighter jet himself: a promise of emotions and inimitable scenes of aerial combat. 

Tony Scott’s Top Gun, a pop culture phenomenon in the 1980s, depicted the adventures of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Lt Tom Kazansky, portrayed by the young pair of actors Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, who shot up to the rank of worldwide stars. In Top Gun: Maverick, the title character, the best fighter pilot in the US Navy over the past thirty years, returns to service in a very risky mission, and passes the torch to the son of his late wingman and friend, “Goose”. Known for his skills as a stuntman, Tom Cruise, who obtained a fighter jet licence for the purposes of the film, here takes command of a jet loaned by the American army, and equipped with six cameras allowing for the filming of incredible aerial shots, beginning with the supersonic flight that opens the film.

“This film is a story of precision and virtuosity. It’s not a game for me.”

While Kelly McGillis, a star of Top Gun, does not appear in this installment, Val Kilmer, the Iceman, does make a very moving appearance, and Jennifer Connelly, a new face to the film, plays Penny, a brilliant and elite sailor. With "Hold my Hand", Lady Gaga provides the key song for the film, taking the baton from the group Berlin and their legendary song from the original film, "Take My Breath Away". For Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise has surrounded himself with close collaborators, such as Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of Top GunChristopher McQuarrie, who co-wrote the script and directed several Mission: Impossible installments, as well as director Joseph Kosinski, who directed Cruise in the lead role in 2013's Oblivion.

 

On this occassion, the Festival will pay an exceptional tribute to Tom Cruise for the totality of his career.

The last time Tom Cruise came to Cannes was on 18 May 1992 to present Ron Howard's Far and Away, screened at the Closing of the 45th Festival. Exactly thirty years later, the Festival de Cannes will pay an exceptional tribute to the totality of his career. 

During this special day, Tom Cruise will appear in the afternoon for a conversation with the journalist Didier Allouch.

Don't miss it – 4pm at the Debussy Theatre!